Education key to Utah's economic prosperity, Gov. Gary Herbert says

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and first lady Jeanette Herbert wave to the crowd after he is sworn into office as Utah's 17th governor by Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah Monday Jan. 7, 2013.

In his 30-minute speech, Herbert recognized an elementary school teacher, three firefighters who were injured fighting a wildfire near Oak City last summer and a state worker who survived two heart surgeries due to a medical device made in Utah.

SALT LAKE CITY — Education is the key to a robust economy, Gov. Gary Herbert said.

"Education is the largest and most important investment Utah makes," Herbert said in his State of the State address Wednesday at the Capitol.

"While we recognize that money isn't everything, we should still take note that while so many states face shrinking budgets and bleak forecasts, Utah has the means, the vision and the commitment to rank education as its top priority."

In his 30-minute speech, Herbert recognized an elementary school teacher, three firefighters who were injured fighting a wildfire near Oak City last summer, and a state worker who survived two heart surgeries due to a medical device made in Utah.

Herbert also highlighted the state's economic successes throughout the year, including its continued business innovation, economic stability and low unemployment. He also noted that 71,000 Utahns don't have jobs and vowed to work with the Legislature to empower the private sector to create more opportunities.

The Republican governor's speech came on the same day that a new poll shows him with an 83 percent job approval rating.

Utah is leading the nation out of the "Great Recession," Herbert said. State leaders must be vigilant to maintain low taxes and sensible regulation with the idea that the private sector, not government, will propel the state to prosperity, he said.

The governor reiterated his goal of having 66 percent of Utahns obtain a college degree or certificate by 2020. And he called on lawmakers to pass a resolution supporting that plan.

How much Utah has to spend on education this year depends on tax and spending decisions in Washington, D.C. The state could be several hundred million dollars short of what budget officials initially anticipated.

"Once the federal dust settles, whether there is little to spend or a lot, education must continue to be our top priority. We can afford nothing less," said Herbert, who was elected to his first full term in November.

Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said he likes some of Herbert's budget proposals for education, but they don't go far enough.

"I think that we need to come up with greater sources of revenue with greater funding for public education. I think the governor is reluctant to propose any new revenue. I think that's a problem," he said.

King wants to raise income tax on higher-income Utahns and increase and close loopholes in the severance tax. He listed teacher development and class size reduction as targets for new revenue.

"We need better resources to allow for teachers to be able to their jobs well," King said.

Success in education, Herbert said, starts with teachers like Maria Contreras of Alta View Elementary School, where the dual immersion program has 275 students. For Contreras, teaching is about more than helping children learn Spanish, Chinese or French. It's about cultural literacy, academic excellence and preparing students for the global economy, Herbert said.

Education, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, is essential to developing Utah's workforce, he said. Herbert proposed the state spend $20 million on STEM education, which would be matched by Utah's eight colleges and universities for a total of $40 million.

Companies like Adobe and Microsoft expanding in northern Utah County and eBay and Oracle in southern Salt Lake County are making that area an information technology hub, the governor said.

Herbert said it's time to get serious about finding a new location for the Utah State Prison and use the current 700-acre site to grow the state IT industry.

Popular Comments

We hear the same rhetoric every year and then what happens? We get about 120+
anti-public education bills every year (that the governor signs) that serves the
sole purpose of sabotaging the education system. The teachers run around like
chickens
More..

10:43 p.m. Jan. 30, 2013

Top comment

OCoug

Ogden, UT

The Governor and the state legislature need to put the money where their mouths
are. Lets see some improvement in class size and teacher training. Right now,
the states' educational system is at a crossroads, we'll see how
important
More..

Dennis Romboy is a reporter for Deseret News where for the past 20 years he has covered a variety of beats including state and local government, human services and the 2002 Olympics. He spent six years as a special more ..